Roén Salinas and the Aztlan Dance Company

By Julie Chapa
For more than 35 years, Academia Aztlan and the Aztlan Dance Company have been a breeding ground for the cultivation of Latin dance in Austin. Throughout its history, artistic director Roén Salinas has played some role in fulfilling the company’s mission.
After the turbulent events of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, those who had toiled for equality turned their efforts to educating their communities about their heritage, leading to a cultural explosion. “My mom, Maria, realized that along with social change there has to be a cultural affirmation,” says Salinas. Maria Salinas founded what is now known as the Aztlan Dance Company in 1974, when she coordinated a dance troupe comprised of her children and the children of a few of her friends.
Today, the Aztlan Dance Company has traveled the world, sharing its vision of danza folkórica, or as Roén calls it, “contemporary, expressive Latino” dance. “Dance is about creating techniques, not just about learning techniques that are imposed on us,” explains Salinas. His goal is to focus on “self-determining our creative spirit. I look for the driving energy and soul of our dancers and then I use that to tell a story,” he says.
While traditional ballet folklórico tells a uniquely Mexican story, Salinas and his troupe strive to mirror the culture of Latinos on this side of the border. “As I evolve my dance, I begin to see a division. Boundaries become very clear,” Salinas explains. “Even though we’re a few hundred miles from the frontera, there’s a totally different cultural experience forming over there. My dance relates more to the Chicano experience.”
Despite his continuing success, reshaping the Latino dance world one step at a time, Salinas has plenty of goals in mind. He’d like to continue his life as an “artist scholar” and eventually complete his doctorate. He earned a master of fine arts degree in dance from the University of Texas at Austin and completing work on a Ph.D.
He’s also planning to create a non-profit school to teach the next generation of Latinos to use dance to “challenge the preconception of identity.” Whatever is next for Salinas, it’s certain that he’ll continue to use dance to build bridges between cultural divides. “Beyond the visual, you can create visceral connections. That’s where I’m trying to move my dance,” says Salinas. “I see myself as a person with stories to tell and dance is a vehicle to do that.”